The Death Note Differential
by DeLyse
Summary: AU - Leonard feels that everything is beginning to fall into place, until he finds Sheldon stalking him on campus. To make matters worse, Penny, the second Kira, shows up, as well. He realizes that he can use her to find Sheldon's true name and bring him down once and for all using Death Note, but Sheldon proves to be much more clever than what he lets on...


_**A/N:** This is just a scene from the live-action movie Death Note II: The Last Name, but reenacted by Leonard, Sheldon, and Penny. It was one of my favorite scenes compared to the manga, I think mostly because of the humor of that silly mask that L wore. Other than this one scene in the movie, the manga is waaaay better._

_I got the idea to write it just a few hours ago after wracking my brain for ideas to write down for my main TBBT fic, Stranded, while watching the Death Note movies in the background. The two came together, and this one-shot was born. It isn't meant to be serious or anything. It was written for the pure enjoyment of it. Enjoy!_

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The Death Note Differential

Leonard was in the middle of stuffing his notes and folders back into his black, three-ring binder when the sound of a soft crunch behind him caught his attention. He knew who it was before he even turned around.

"Sheldon," he said, locking eyes with the strange young man.

Sheldon sat there in his usual manner, chewing thoughtfully on a Hershey bar with his knees almost touching his chest and his hands resting over them. He had the bar of chocolate pinched delicately between his thumb and index finger, and he stared at Leonard with sharp, perceptive blue eyes that always seemed to be bruised along the lashes – a clear sign of malnourishment coupled with sleep deprivation.

"We've heard nothing from the second Kira since the incident," he said, slowly looking away. "He may have contacted the original Kira by now." He brought the partially bitten chocolate bar to his mouth and snapped off another corner between his teeth.

"Shouldn't you hide your face?" Leonard asked. He was irritated, clearly. As if the constant accusations of him being Kira weren't enough, now the weirdo was following him to class. On top of that, his deductive reasoning skills were phenomenal, having already figured that he – the actual Kira – had met with the second. Leonard made a mental note that he would have to be more careful about his actions in public.

Sheldon rolled his eyes back onto Leonard, his expression as unreadable as ever. "If you were Kira, I'd be in trouble. But it would be fatal if you had already informed the second Kira about me." He brought his right hand to the Hershey bar and pinched it, breaking off a bite sized piece. "In which case," he said, popping the piece of chocolate into his mouth and then bring a mask up to cover his face, "I'll wear this."

The mask looked ridiculous, to say the least. It was a cheap, plastic one, depicting an exaggerated male face of wide eyes, high eye-brows, and dimpled cheeks with the mouth pursed to the side in an attempt to look as though the face was whistling.

"I see." Leonard had to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he finished zipping up his binder.

He stood, and together, they walked out of the college classroom and outside, with Leonard on the left trying his best to conceal his troubled thoughts, and Sheldon on the right, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a yellow Dum-Dum between his finger and thumb. He walked with a lazy, awkward gait, his shoulders slumped and his neck out, wearing that silly-faced mask.

Sheldon may have been on to something, but Leonard was no dumb-dumb, himself. He knew Sheldon had no proof that Leonard was Kira, and as long as that perky, annoying Penny girl kept her mouth shut and did what she was told, everything would eventually fall into place. Just like with anything, Leonard had a plan. And it would work.

"So, why are you keeping an eye on me?" he said as they were halfway across the campus. "You think Kira's a student here at the college, don't you?"

"I'm waiting for the big catch," was all Sheldon said.

"You mean Kira?"

But before anything else could be said, a smiling face framed by blonde pigtails poked out from the side of a brick column. Penny.

Leonard felt his heart jolt with panic as Penny grinned even wider and jumped out from her hiding place, sporting a slick, form-fitting black dress with lacy tights, knee-high, buckled boots, and eyes only for him.

"Leonard!"

Leonard looked from Penny to Sheldon and back again, his body rigid. He tried to relax and remain calm, thinking, _What is she doing? She's going to ruin everything..._

"I just dropped by to say hi," Penny explained, hands clasped behind her.

Leonard opened his mouth to speak, but then he stopped. _Wait... This is perfect. She could tell me Sheldon's true name..._

He glanced over at Sheldon, whom was frozen, the sucker held still before him. Penny's attention switched to Sheldon with a very kawaii look.

"Is he...a friend of yours?" she asked, looking back at Leonard.

"Yeah," Leonard said, feeling his chest swell. This was his chance. He now had the upper hand. "His name is Sheldon."

Penny's smile grew as her hazel eyes focused back to Sheldon. "That's a weird mask," she said, leaning closer with a giggle.

"Take it off," Leonard suggested casually.

When Sheldon did not respond to either of the two, Penny stepped forward and pulled the mask up and over his head with an animated grin. Sheldon just stood there, his expression lax, but his eyes trained on her only.

_Check mate,_ Leonard thought with an inward smirk.

"Hello," Penny said to the strange young man before her. He continued to stare at her, while her eyes drifted upward, just above his head, and Leonard could see that she was reading his true name. "Sheldon...?" she said softly.

Leonard tensed. Sheldon was by no means stupid or unobservant. What if he knew something was amiss? It was so damn hard to tell, as he was merely standing there, entranced with her, his face expressionless. Leonard watched them, unaware that he was holding his breath.

Then Penny offered one of her warm, award-winning smiles and said, "How are you? I'm Penny."

Sheldon remained just as still and blank as he had been since she jumped out from behind the column.

"He's...kinda creeping me out," Penny said to Leonard, and Sheldon placed the yellow Dum-Dum in his mouth and pinched the mask from her hands.

"He's just shy," Leonard explained, watching Sheldon pull the mask back over his head. This time, he positioned it so that the front of it was on the side of his head, covering his left ear.

Sheldon pulled the sucker out of his mouth and, still zoned in on Penny, said, "I envy you, Leonard." All three stood there in a moment of silence, until he moved to grab Penny's hands in his – the first time Leonard had ever seen Sheldon grab anything with all his fingers. "I'm a big fan," he said breathlessly, his expression now one of pure awe.

"Oh, really?" Penny said, her slight look of alarm melding into one of bashfulness. "Thank you!"

Sheldon's smile grew bigger, and even more strange, it was genuine. Refusing to take his intense stare off of Penny, he said, "Tell me, Leonard. How do you get to date Hollywood stars?" He turned to Leonard now, his eyes wide with wonder.

"I made the first move," Penny admitted, laughing.

From somewhere behind her, a voice exclaimed, "Hey, isn't that _Penny?_"

Leonard's composure faltered – how the hell was he supposed to get out of this one? Sheldon's first instinct was to look down and away, bringing the sucker back to his lips. Penny's reaction was to, of course, turn and look at the mention of her name.

As soon as she had turned, Leonard knew it was a big mistake. The stranger whom had spoken burst into a star-struck grin, and she began waving frantically. Her reaction to Penny caused others around her to spin and look her way, and as soon as they recognized the Hollywood starlet, they all began smiling and flocking toward her. Penny waved back at them, her gaze drifting from one person to the next as they all began to crowd around her.

People were crying out her name, flipping open their cell phones, and reaching out for her. During the sudden commotion, Sheldon was pushed out of the way, and a look of panic laced his shaded blue eyes.

"Shake my hand!"

"She's so cute in person!"

"Penny, over here!"

Penny looked all around herself, accepting the attention gracefully, but the more the throng of fans began to condense, the more worried she looked. Suddenly, she cried out in alarm and darted her eyes all around her. "Someone touched my butt!"

"This is an outrage," came Sheldon's voice from seemingly nowhere. Penny turned, and there he was in front of her, his eyes searching the crowd with a cold, calculated perception. "I am a famous detective. I will find the culprit," he vowed, walking past her. He swiftly turned on his heel, facing Penny, and whipped out a second Dum-Dum, presenting it to her in a gentlemanly fashion.

"For you," he said.

Penny laughed shyly and accepted the candy. "You're so sweet."

Sheldon dipped closer to her, his dark-rimmed eyes wide and serious. "Would you go out with me instead of him?"

Penny's shoulders came forward with the force of her giggle, and she sauntered over to Leonard and hooked her arm in his. "Sorry, but Leonard is my one and only love."

"Cut it out," Leonard quipped just below his breath. He turned to face her, worming his arm out of her grip, and said, "I still have class, and you have to get back to work."

"Okay." Penny smiled. "Sorry, but I had to see you today." She gave him a cute, feminine wave and turned. She left skipping, leaving the crowd behind to jump up and down and cry out their goodbyes to her. Leonard, a little frazzled from the mass attention, began to feel himself calm at the thought of his win. She had definitely seen Sheldon's real name. Soon, Sheldon would be out of the picture, and Leonard would go free.

"Sheldon."

His eyes seemed stuck on the distant form of Penny, but Sheldon was able to tear away to meet Leonard's gaze.

"So, now you know about my girlfriend," Leonard said, feigning a defeated shrug. "I gotta get to the next class. I'll see you later."

"Right," Sheldon said, his face becoming unreadable once again. "Now that I've met the one and only Penny, I should be heading back to Headquarters."

Sheldon began walking forward, and Leonard couldn't help himself. As he passed by him, he smirked. "Be careful..."

Leonard turned and began walking the opposite direction. A low chuckle escaped his throat. _I've won..._

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 33 – the speed-dial number for Penny. Once he got Sheldon's actual name from her, things would be right again, and everything would fall into place like a puzzle. Finally, things were going the way they were supposed to.

He watched the screen of his phone as it dialed Penny's number and waited for it to connect. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and held the phone up to his ear, a wicked grin splayed across his face.

Sheldon could not have been more than twenty paces away when the phone he had swiped from Penny's back pocket began to vibrate and play a jaunty J-pop tune. He stopped, pinched the charms that dangled from it, and held it in the air in front of him, pulling the sucker from his mouth. He gingerly opened the flip phone with just his thumbs and forefingers and held it to his right ear.

"Hello?"

Leonard's pompous smile faded as his face turned a whiter shade of pale at the sound of Sheldon's voice on the other end. He took a deep breath and asked, closing his eyes, "What are you doing with Penny's phone?"

Both men turned at the exact same time to face each other.

"It seems she dropped her phone," Sheldon said. Even from afar, his stare was sharp and unnerving.

"That's Penny's phone. Give it back," Leonard said. He lowered his phone away from his face and flipped it shut, feeling his entire plan crumbling into pieces before his very eyes. He began walking toward Sheldon, and Sheldon slowly stepped forward with Penny's phone held away from his ear. When Leonard was close enough, he snatched the phone from Sheldon's fingers and flipped it shut.

"Calling her already?" Sheldon blinked at him. "You two must be inseparable lovebirds. Or...was there something so urgent you had to call her and ask immediately?"

Leonard was rendered speechless. He was trapped. He watched as Sheldon brought out his own phone from his pocket and hit the "Talk" button.

"Yes?" Sheldon said calmly.

_"We've captured the target,"_ the voice on the other end stated. _"It wasn't our original location; the target was in transit. We're done here. Returning to Headquarters."_

"Understood," Sheldon said. "Thank you." He pushed the "End" button on the phone with his forefinger and slipped it carefully back into his pocket. He popped the Dum-Dum back into his mouth and began to talk around it. "We've captured Penny on suspicion of being the second Kira."

Leonard's eyes narrowed, but inside he felt as though he was unraveling at the seams.

"Penny is a Kira fanatic, and was at the TV station that day," Sheldon explained, looking away and slipping the candy from his mouth. He licked his lips. "Fibers found on the tapes matched those from her clothes, as well as traces of her makeup." His eyes trailed back up to Leonard's. "This information is strictly confidential. Meanwhile, please refrain from coming to Headquarters."

"Are you going to interrogate her?" Leonard asked, struggling to maintain an illusion of control.

"I cannot tell you that. Would you mind handing over her phone?"

Leonard's mind scrambled for something to say; he wasn't at all surprised that the first thing to come out of his mouth was denial. "Penny is the second Kira? That's impossible..."

Sheldon ignored him, took Penny's phone back from him with his fingertips, and slid the mask back over his face. "See you later."

As he walked away, his posture slumped forward as usual, Leonard could only gape. Sheldon was going to win. He needed to do something, and he needed to act fast. It was only a matter of time now before it would be him in holding, being interrogated for all the deaths he had caused through Death Note. He needed a new plan...


End file.
